When I say "laid it down" I mean that literally, not as a euphemism. It was around 11:30pm when I made it back to the garage, which is situated in an alley adjacent to a hell of a lot of houses and apartments. When I roll in late I always shut the engine off and coast in so as not to be that dick on an obnoxiously loud bike waking everyone up on a weeknight.

Only problem is that the Panigale's lights turn off when the bike isn't running. Not a big deal, but the asphalt is in terrible condition. As I coasted to nearly a halt I fumbled around trying to press the garage door button through my leather jacket. And as I slowed to near zero the bike hit what felt like a curb and the bike immediately started to drop to the left. Only problem was that my left hand was fishing around for the damn remote. I braced the bike as much as I could with my legs to slow it down, did get a hold of the left clip on about half way to ground zero, but by then it was too late.

For the last 20 degrees I literally just held on and laid the bike down as gently as possible.

Anyone who's had an accident or done something irreversible knows exactly what weird amalgam of an emotion goes through your mind. It's a mixture of regret and the stupidity, mingled with a "Ctrl-Z, Ctrl-Z!" desire to just go back a few seconds to do it all differently. I picked the bike up, found the damn door button and rolled inside to see the extent of the damage.

Absolutely could not believe my eyes. The beautiful, smooth, candy-apple red fairing hadn't a nick or a scratch. The tail section? Pristine. The shock cover? Not a mark. The tank, though--the tank: smooth as glass. WTF? Only damage was the clutch lever (the break off point functioned as it should have) and the high beam switch snapped off (I think my finger did that while trying to muscle the bike). Oh yeah, and there was a slight mark on the bar end.

Fucking 'eh. Had the bike just fallen at speeds dictated by gravity I'm sure it would have been worse, but all that was really damaged was my ability to say "I haven't dropped a bike in 20 years."

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Did an equivalent at Church. Ya. Church with my Multi. In front of a mom & kid. Thought the damned thing was a mountain bike & tried to turn on a sidewalk & watched myself going off the edge of a sidewalk & decided to try & turn at about 2 miles an hour. Dropped it. Broke my brake lever on the handlebar, that was about all. To replace...too much money. Bought an aftermarket that was better. Still, should have not have been seduced by the simplicity of the machine.

F'n Ducatis's.

Must mention. I dropped the bike before the first payment on a dirt rut from a big truck tire, dried, embedded in the ground that I then immediately fell into a HUGE puddle on the right, created by said tire. Rode home with the entire right side covered in mud. The bikes white.
That was my christening.
Love this DUC beast. 17000 miles later & just one year.

When one bases one's actions on the praises and criticisms of others, it amounts to being inauthentic with Self.

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I see your point, but you missed the part where I'm a perfectionist and didn't think I could do it justice. A lot of that criticism is my own. So I choose to do the things I'm extremely good at and the things I want to learn to be extremely good at instead.

I see your point, but you missed the part where I'm a perfectionist and didn't think I could do it justice. A lot of that criticism is my own. So I choose to do the things I'm extremely good at and the things I want to learn to be extremely good at instead.

Saw someone with a black helmet and jacket riding a panigale today around 10 in San Rafael this morning. You in the area Dennis?

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I am. But my bike is still in the shop--As soon as my clip ons come in I'll probably pick her up, seeing as though all the other parts will probably take some time to come in. So if you see someone on a Panigale with jacked up bodywork, it's me!

Living and working in the Nashville, Tennessee area I been seeing a couple Panigale motorbikes. Man what eye candy! I was at the Farmers Market in downtown Nashville Thursday (March 28th) and got to meet and greet with a owner of one of these bikes, he was riding with a older BWM 600cc boxer engine bike. I could have stared at that bike for an hour (Ducati). I told him about your adventure (AntiHero) and where to find it. Being a Motorbike tire installer, I offered up my service to him, maybe I will get lucky to work on this mans bike. I just need to score a Single sided swingarm stand.

I see your point, but you missed the part where I'm a perfectionist and didn't think I could do it justice. A lot of that criticism is my own. So I choose to do the things I'm extremely good at and the things I want to learn to be extremely good at instead.

So I read an article that made me think about some of the stuff that has been said here. Well, really the whole theme behind this ride report. See I'm doing the crossfit open, which is a five week long worldwide competition which also acts as a qualifier for the bigger events (which I will not be qualifying for). But anyway the workout for this last week was a three rep ladder (3, 6, 9...) of 135lb clean and jerk and toes to bar. Well my max clean and jerk is 165, so 135 gets heavy pretty quick, even more so going overhead with it. But, if you decide that every rep is going to count, that every time you put your hands on the bar it's going over your head, if you trust yourself and the bar guess what, its goes overhead. When you start doubting yourself, shit don't happen. You know what, no matter what else happens in life, no matter who tells you you're awesome or a piece of poo, the bar doesn't lie to you. When you decide to make shit happen, shit happens. When you start doubting yourself, shit don't happen.

This is about the most profound reading I've ever done on the internet. This ride report has infected my daily thoughts. I gave up my beloved 1098 to get a R1200GS so my 9 year old daughter and my wife can go riding with me. I will be back on a Ducati when I can afford to keep the GS and have the Ducati.

I think very few people understand how motorcycles can become a way of life. This report captures what its like to live and breathe motorcycles day in and day out. Pure sport bikes and dirt bikes are my favorite because there is little there that doesn't absolutely need to be. There is truly nothing better than being one with the machine and it becoming your companion, almost transcending being an inanimate object. Thank you for the time and commitment it took to document your trip.

I think very few people understand how motorcycles can become a way of life. There is truly nothing better than being one with the machine and it becoming your companion, almost transcending being an inanimate object.

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Very well stated and I couldn't agree more. I hope a Ducati comes back into your life sooner than you expect.

That sounds like something Vicki might have had a hand in. She knows more people inside Ducati than anyone, short of Cladio...

If you've never met her, make of point of doing so.
I met her and Rich 2 years ago at Ducstock and I've never met 2 more passionate, personable and genuinely nice Ducatisti in my life.
In my opinion they are royality in the Ducati world.

Looks like were going to have to add your name to that list soon enough Antihero.

jimi

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Just had dinner with Vicki at the weekly S.FL Ducati Owners Meetup last night and brought this discussion up with her. She DID send word of this Ride Report to Ducati, but in her words, she's not sure whether or not Ducati Corporate was already aware of AH's ride...

...she really is the "eyes and ears" for Ducati, given her vast social network.

I'm on page 77.
can not find the words to describe your talent. your biggest ability is to hit a perfect match between words and feelings. it's like you know how to refine so many thoughts into a resonant sentence. you were blessed dude! waiting for your book (and if necessary will translate it to hebrew [yep, I'm jew but will do it for free]).
I'm about to do a us roadtrip this summer (the common R1200GS , still do not have the guts to drive on a superbike) and will definetaly read your RR few times again.
warm greetings from Israel.

i'm on page 77.
Can not find the words to describe your talent. Your biggest ability is to hit a perfect match between words and feelings. It's like you know how to refine so many thoughts into a resonant sentence. You were blessed dude! Waiting for your book (and if necessary will translate it to hebrew [yep, i'm jew but will do it for free]).
I'm about to do a us roadtrip this summer (the common r1200gs , still do not have the guts to drive on a superbike) and will definetaly read your rr few times again.
Warm greetings from israel.